Month: September 2012

WHEN IS OUR TURN?

I forgot when I first fell in love with the brand. For the fast fashion lovers, this Swedish brand is definitely IT!

H&M. Personally, I visited every H&M stores I could find whenever I went abroad. But the most memorable H&M moment for me was when I went to H&M in Singapore for their opening party, September last year. I went to the opening the night before (invitations only) and it was a blast to see Singaporeans lined up the day before the store opened for public (see pictures above). Even though I didn’t know most of the local celebrities and VVIP in Singapore, I snapped a pic of Denise Keller and shopped my guts out that night (yes we were invited to shop). 

After hearing so many rumors about H&M in Indonesia where I live, well … eventually, H&M will open sooner in Bangkok, Thailand. Reportedly will be open on September 29, 2012, it will occupied two floors in Siam Paragon. Congratulations. (I wish I can be there for the opening party as well-hello PR people??)

Update news: H&M will open its’ door sooner on September 22, 2012 in Malaysia. Spread across 36.000 square feet at Lot 10, Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur, it’ll be the first store in Malaysia before the second one in Setia City Mall, Shah Alam. 

PINK? WHAT IS PINK?

Thanks to her uber famous mother and father, Harper Seven Beckham is already a trendsetter for baby girls. Only 14 months young, her mother already dressed her in Marc Jacobs, Chloe … you name it. Even her father joked about his daughter’s branded wardrobe at NBC’s Today: “Her wardrobe is unbelievable. It’s amazing. I think that’s why I have to keep playing!" 

But, wait…how come we rarely (read: never) seen Harper in pink as any other baby girls are wearing? Hallo …. look at her mother, Victoria. Have you ever caught her in pink? Like mother, like daughter I guess. Victoria has been dressing Harper in shades like grey and white, I’m worried Harper will be pink blind. 

Seems like other mothers in the UK are following Victoria’s way of dressing her daughter, proven by statistics from Marks and Spencer. The sales of non-pink daywear has increased by 52% last year and M&S have introduced other baby ‘IT’ colors such as silver, grey and mint. 

FLOWER POWER

What is Kenzo Takada (simply known as Kenzo) doing these days after he retired from his fashion house at 1999?

Well, he’s busy doing another designing gig. But not for other fashion houses. After LVMH took over Kenzo fashion house, he said that he’d rather work in decor. Well, his latest ‘decor’ gig is a collection of fine jewelry for a private atelier called 10 Royale. 20 pieces in the range created and designed by Kenzo, includes super duper expensive materials like diamonds and ruby. The theme will be classic floral bloom, so expect to see lots of flowers with the bling. 

SO YOU HAVE ACNES, SO WHAT?

Remembering the teenage years, too many hormones to tackle and too much pimples to handle, this (another) youtube sensation is really an inspiration for teenagers. 

Watch Cassandra Bankson on her youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex33wtqnNz8&feature=player_embedded), and you’ll understand why this 19 years old California’s native is such a big hit. Said her first pimple popped up at 9, followed by cystic acne at 14, and got bullied because of them, she decided to put her barefaced once and for all in youtube back in December 2010. Her skills to cover her troubled skin by foundations, concealer and powders had more than 45 millions youtube’s viewer inspired. So inspired, designer Stacey Igel decided to put Cassandra on her label “Boy Meets Girl” runway in New York Fashion Week 2012. 

Now, she’s pursuing modeling (she modeled for Sephora, Hourglass Cosmetics and CHI) and she has a dream of becoming a dermatologist. Way to go, girl!

THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE WOMEN IN THE WORLD WEAR ….

REVLON. I stumbled upon vintage ads from the (real) good old days, and some people did sell these on ebay. 

From Hollywood glamorous and iconic stars like Joan Collins, Liza Minnelli both circa 1980 and (the late) Audrey Hepburn circa 1988, Melanie Griffith circa 1996, IT supermodels Cindy Crawford circa 1992 and Brooke Shields circa 1988, and last but not least Oprah Winfrey circa 1989; these could be the most unforgettable ads of all time. 

PLUS ONE TO THE SHOENIVERSE

Can you expect bold prints, bright colors and beading details in Matthew Williamson’s shoes line? The anwer is yes.

To celebrate his label’s 15th anniversary, the Brit’s designer will show his first footwear collection this Sunday (16 Sept 2012) at London Fashion Week. Collaborating with emerging shoemaker Joanne Stoker, and made in Italy, the collection is heavily influenced by The Festival of Color in India. So perfect for Spring Summer 2013.

AGING THE ‘FRESH’ WAY

Who could’ve thought that a collection of soap will make this iconic brand still exists for 21 years. 

Back in 1991, Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, set out to create the perfect artisanal soap. They made a clear vision to launch a beauty brand that use natural ingredients like sugar, milk, soy and rice. From year to year, Fresh continue to launched unique and natural ingredients like Sake from Japan and Umbrian Clay from Italy. 

To commemorate Fresh’s 21st birthday, they launched “Fresh Turns 21 Oval Soap Collection”. Why Oval Soap? It is the product that got them started the whole thing in the first place. This latest and limited edition collection are scented with Hesperides Grapefruit, Patchouli and Sugar (most favorite scents from the brand). The difference is in the wrappers. They’ve collaborated with artist and illustrator R. Nichols for the sweet looking packages. How cute are they?

LIKE A YUMMY FROZEN DESSERT

Imagine a cooling and refreshing sorbet in a middle of super hot day. How it lingers your throat and you can still feel the freshness after you swallowed it. That was the feeling I got when I tried the latest range from L’Occitane, Sorbet Verbena.

Another limited edition items to grab quickly before they’re gone, they are pack with mix of lime, grapefruit, verbena, peppermint, spearmint and a base of white woods and musk. Subtle like any L’Occitane products, yet citrusy and sparkling. They were launched to celebrate summer in other parts of the world, but in my hometown (where summer celebrated mostly every day of the year) I wish this range will become a permanent collection. 

There are 5 products of Sorbet Verbena in L’Occitane Indonesia stores: Body Ice Gel (Rp 350.000), Cooling Gloss (Rp 185.000), EDT (Rp 620.000), Exfoliating Shower Gel (Rp 255.000) and Refreshing Mist (Rp 180.000). 

Extra tip: Put Refreshing Mist inside the refrigerator before you bring them inside your bag. Spray whenever you feel like you and your skin need refreshment after a long hot day, especially to get rid of those smell after you got ‘baked’ under the sun. Not sticky at all and the bottle is small enough to carry around. I love it.

LONG BEFORE PHOTOSHOP …

There was actually an era, when all the commercials are free of B.S. Where all the ladies and gents not exaggeratedly nipped and tucked, in purpose.

And long before Spanx, Maidenform Shapewear and any shape wear brands that promise us to look slimmer, there were actually their predecessors. Corsets and girdles from the 1940’s advertisement proved it all (see above). The lingerie innovations of earlier days to show how ladies tummy can look flatter, with no photoshop of course.

Although hugely popular back then (worn by Ava Gardner and Marlene Dietrich), I believe it wouldn’t be as comfortable as the now brands (mentioned earlier). But it’s a huge relieve to know that girdles can actually tucked and nipped our (not to oversized) tummies as easy as one, two..three. No photoshop needed here, thanks.